The invention is directed to a container and more particularly to a container for stacking and storing chucks which are attached to an optic lens for machining of that lens.
In the optic lens art and especially in the plastic lens art, the lens are attached to a chuck for machining to the desired optic configuration. The chucks are refrigerated to a low temperature, one surface of a plano or prism ring is attached to a lens and the other side of the ring is attached to the chuck. Between the chuck and the lens an open space exists. This open space is filled with a low melting temperature metal, well known in this art, and allowed to cool and harden. After the metal has hardened the chuck is mounted in an appropriate machine for fine optical machining. The temperature of the refrigerated chuck acts as a heat sink taking heat from the liquid metal to prevent harm to the lens attached thereto.
After the machining process is completed, the lens is removed and the ring and chuck are placed in an oven or water heated above the melting temperature of the low melt metal and the chuck, ring and metal are salvaged for reuse.
A problem exists in that the chucks after use must be collected, individually stacked and placed in a refrigerator or on a refrigerated surface to reduce their temperature for re-use. The collecting and stacking of the individual chucks is a time consuming task and requires a person to go from work station to work station to collect and stack the chucks for placement in a refrigerator or refrigerated surface for re-use as fore mentioned.
There has not been a satisfactory solution to this time consuming problem until the emergence of the present invention.